Ventures
by warinbabylon
Summary: The Doctor returns. Disclaimer: It's all BBC, really. Second story in the Nowhere Series


Peri frowned and watched the Doctor bustle around the console. He   
ran a hand through his hair and seemed distracted at best, grouchy at   
worst. Their last adventure had taken them on an intergalactic   
treasure hunt and neither of them was any worse for the wear, but she   
had a feeling that the Doctor was in need of a vacation of sorts.  
  
"Doctor?" she asked, leaning on the console.  
  
"Hmm?" he replied, flicking a couple of more switches. "Yes, what is   
it, Peri?"  
  
"Your mind is elsewhere," she stated plainly. "Makes me wonder where   
the TARDIS'll end up next. You're just putting the coordinates in"  
  
The Doctor straightened, slightly chagrined by the case that Peri   
presented. "Well, I was thinking about taking you to another little   
planet I know. Beautiful little jewel of a resort there"  
  
Peri nodded and then sighed. "That makes four places that you've   
taken me because you think that's what I would like to see. But   
don't you ever want to go somewhere for you?"  
  
The Doctor frowned. "Whatever do you mean?"  
  
"Don't you want to go someplace just for you?"  
  
He stopped punching coordinates and frowned. The girl had only been   
traveling with him a short while and yet she seemed to have an almost   
intuitive understanding of him. Or rather had an intuitive   
understanding of something about him that he hadn't considered.  
  
"And where would you think that would be, Peri?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Earth."  
  
"Peribelieve me I have spent more than enough time on Earth  
especially in this regeneration. Now," he straightened and rubbed   
his hands together. "Where to"  
  
"Earth."  
  
He put his hands into his pockets and shook his head. "Quite out of   
the question."  
  
"You're afraid to go, aren't you?" Peri shook her head. "I might be   
young, Doctor, but I know when someone is avoiding something. The   
last time I saw you happy was when I returned from visiting friends   
in Morocco."  
  
"Well, you visited old friends and so did I," the Doctor answered   
very quietly.   
  
"And you said that he or she"  
  
"She."  
  
"invited you to visit. I think it's time you went." Peri concluded   
her argument by crossing her arms and pouting. "And besides, I could   
do with a small shopping trip on Earth. I need some clothes for   
school."  
  
"The clothes"  
  
"That we've bought I could never wear on Earth and you know that,   
Doctor," Peri explained. She gave him a steady stare until he hummed   
and frowned. Peri, it appeared, was very perceptive. He had been   
rather melancholy of late. Although she was proving to be a very   
capable and very companionable friend, he did still have a sense of   
isolation, of separation from her. True, he was more affectionate   
with her than with his other companions of late, but where as he was   
closer, if in a somewhat physical sense to her, he was more distant   
on a personal level.  
  
It was hard to understand. He hadn't felt the same towards   
Turlough, Kamelion or Peri that he had felt towards Tegan. She had   
been troublesome, argumentative, had pushed the bounds of his   
patience. She had shouted, complained and pushed her way through the   
Universe. She had yelled at him, yelled at Turlough, yelled at   
Nyssa, yelled at Adric and Kamelion.   
  
But she had had an undying sense of loyalty, a driving, almost at   
times suicidal sense of duty to those she called friend. Tegan had   
yelled at him, but she had accepted nothing he had told her and had   
made him prove his word, his abilities and even himself. It wasn't   
something he was used to, but he had grown to accept it, almost rely   
on it. He had told her once that he wouldn't know what to do without   
her. Of course, he had made it into a joke. A Time Lord, by   
definition, does not need a human. His emotional detachment training   
in the Academy insured that fact. But that didn't mean he didn't   
want the companionship. And Tegan's companionship was like nothing   
he had ever known before.  
  
Any way that he thought about it: whether it was the quiet that hung   
in the TARDIS, or the fact that no one acted as his conscience quite   
like she had, or had forced him to be as responsible as she had   
required him to be, he missed Tegan. And seeing her just a few weeks   
previous had driven home that fact to him.   
  
He didn't entirely know if he liked it, either.  
  
"You want me to visit Tegan, then," the Doctor stated quietly.   
  
"That's your friend's name? Then, yes. I think you should."  
  
"I wouldn't know where to find her, or when," the Doctor hedged,   
fighting the urge to smile at Peri's persistence.   
  
"How about a few months after we left the last time?" Peri   
offered. "And you wouldn't be the alien I know if you couldn't find   
her. You have friends in high places and a computer system. Just   
find her."  
  
The Doctor shook his head with a little laugh. "You are quite the   
persistent one. All right."  
  
**  
  
Tegan pulled the car into the parking garage and helped Michael out   
of the car seat as Amy piled out of the passenger side of the car.   
  
As the girl rambled on about her day at school, Tegan picked up   
Michael and encouraged her daughter to carry a small bag of   
groceries. But Amy scampered off to the stairs that led up to their   
apartment.   
  
"Amy Louise!" Tegan called exasperatedly as she juggled Michael and   
her pocketbook. With a sigh, she shut the car door, hoping that she   
could leave the children for two minutes to run back down and gather   
the groceries. Not wanting her child to get too far ahead of her,   
she began to jog and climb the steps while Michael chattered happily   
in her ear. "Amy Louise, you wait for mewhat have I told you about   
running ahead of Momma?"  
  
Her admonishment drifted off as she heard Amy quickly talking with   
someone and her heart fell into her stomach. She felt a panic that   
her child was talking to a stranger and hurried up the remaining   
steps to gasp and run down the corridor. "Amy!"  
  
Her run slowed and she stopped when she saw who her daughter was   
talking to so familiarly. "Oh no."  
  
Amy was holding up her current piece of artwork for the man, proudly   
telling him that she had done it herself. The man smiled and bent to   
take the piece of paper, squatting as he did so. "It's quite good,"   
he reassured. "With your own hands?"  
  
Her little girl nodded and smiled widely nearly dancing with   
excitement. The man tilted back his hat and then noticed that Tegan   
was in the hallway. He rose and faced her. "Hello, Tegan."  
  
Tegan found she could draw a sigh of relief as the fear for her   
daughter wore off. "Hello, Doctor," she answered, with   
relief. "What on Earth are you doing here?"  
  
The Doctor frowned and then grimaced. Amy was pulling on his trouser   
leg. His attention turned to her. The girl was holding out her   
hands to him. Tegan approached, juggling her son and the   
pocketbook. With a puff of breath, she nodded to her daughter. "I'm   
surprised she remembers you, Doc," Tegan said by way of an   
introduction.  
  
"I am quite unforgettable," he insisted with a smile and then the   
smile disappeared. "It seems you need help again, Tegan."  
  
"You're always carrying something for me."  
  
"It's good to be needed for something, I suppose," he sighed.   
  
She raised her eyebrows and sidled by him to unlock the door while   
still balancing Michael. He stood back, his hand resting on Amy's   
head. When the door opened, she stumbled in and set her son down. As   
Michael crawled off into the living room of the small apartment,   
Tegan turned to let the Doctor and Amy into the kitchen.  
  
"I'm glad to see you again," she said honestly. "But a good greeting   
will have to wait until I get back from the groceries"  
  
The Doctor hummed and walked to the door. "Just describe the car,   
Tegan"  
  
**  
  
"So you just decided to drop in and visit?" Tegan asked, sipping her   
tea. She glanced toward the living room where the children were   
playing in front of the television.   
  
"Well," he answered honestly. "I did have a little pressure from   
Peri. She seemed to think I needed a holiday to cheer me up." He   
leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. The   
kitchen was filling with the smell of dinner cooking and of roasted   
vegetables. He had been watching Tegan prepare dinner for the last   
half an hour and now was quite comfortably relaxing in the chair next   
to the door.   
  
His gaze traveled about the apartment as Tegan got up to pour more   
tea. Next to the kitchen was a small living room holding a variety   
of toys, a couch and chair and a television. There were three doors   
leading out of the room against the far wall. He supposed two were   
to bedrooms and the third to a bathroom of sorts. The kitchen itself   
was just large enough for a door in, a small table with two chairs   
and a highchair, and various appliances.   
  
"You were moping again," Tegan stated, rather than asked and shook   
her head. "That doesn't surprise me in the least."  
  
He brought his gaze back to hers and frowned. "Tegan, I don't mope,"   
came his indignant reply.  
  
"Then you are quite an actor," she commented, bending over to open   
the oven.   
  
His sigh sounded much has it had when she had traveled with   
him. "Tegan."  
  
"Yes, well, the apartment is not quite large enough to receive   
visitors right now. Unlike the TARDIS, it's much smaller on the   
inside than the out," she laughed. "How did you find me?"  
  
"Would you believe the telephone directory?" he asked. "I once told   
Nyssa that you would be surprised who you can find in the telephone   
directory. Though I had a bit of trouble, and several hours of   
calling. You would have to have the last name of Jones, Tegan," he   
admonished.  
  
"Well, I didn't marry Tom for his last name," Tegan retorted. "Would   
you want wine with supper, Doc?"  
  
"No, no. I do appreciate the invite for the meal, however," he   
replied.   
  
"It's not quite the Ritz or France," she complained, pulling the   
roasting dish out of the oven. "Fridays are the worst for me for   
cooking. Usually I'm down to nothing in the fridge as Saturday is   
shopping day, but you lucked out. It was rather a rush job, though.   
With Amy in school and Michael with a friend, shopping is touch and   
go on the weekdays."  
  
"I don't believe in luck," the Doctor smiled. "Providence, however  
fate"  
  
"Oh no," she laughed. "Don't get me started on that line of   
thought. I know you better than that. Rabbits. Fate is the LAST   
thing you believe in"  
  
Hands held up in mock surrender, he gave a wide smile. "True, Tegan,   
very true."  
  
"And your friend? Will she be coming as well?" Tegan asked, turning   
to the cupboard for plates. "We'll have to spread out into the   
sitting room if that's the case"  
  
"I don't think so. Peri contacted a cousin in London and contrived a   
couple day stay with her. She has this phone number, however. I   
hope you don't mind."  
  
"Noit's easier to contact you here than elsewhere, I suppose.   
You've cut your hair again."  
  
"Yes," he sighed. Tegan came over to the table and put out three   
plates. "Can I help?"  
  
"How are you with setting the table?" she asked, quietly.  
  
"Passable. Where is your cutlery?" He rose out of the chair and   
padded across the kitchen. She pointed to a drawer and he emptied   
it, pulling out one setting after another. When all other sound   
disappeared in the room, he turned to glance at her. She was looking   
at him, and he thought that the shock or surprise at seeing him was   
finally setting in. "Tegan?"  
  
"Again," she sighed, quietly, resuming her spooning of the food to a   
serving plate. "Again, you're here. Where by all rights, you   
shouldn't be."  
  
"How's that?" he asked in return, turning his hip against the drawer   
and closing it. "Explain it to me, Tegan."  
  
"Traveling with you is like falling down the white rabbit hole, isn't   
it?" she stated the question, quickly filling the plate with   
carrots. "Neverland or Wonderland, it doesn't matter. It isn't   
reality."  
  
"Isn't it?" he prodded, stepping forward. "Are you sure, Tegan?"  
  
He watched as a steady determination crossed her features. "My   
reality is sitting in the other room, Doc. My reality is getting up   
and going to work each day so that they have a roof over their heads   
and food in their mouths. Reality, you once told me, is of our own   
making. When I was with you I was outside the reality of my making   
and had to accept yours. But nownow I'm here and this is a reality   
of my making."  
  
He took a deep breath and lowered his hands, the place setting's forks   
and spoons still in his grasp. "That's a very apt application." He   
was impressed; he hadn't expected her to be able to grasp what he had   
been trying to explain so completely.   
  
"Well," she said, as she put down the serving spoon. She still   
hadn't looked at him. "Why are you here? Really?"  
  
A painful question, he guessed from the way she gripped the platter   
in her hand. She had always been one that was willing to accept a   
certain amount of pain if it meant she had the truth given to her.   
He didn't answer, wondering in reality why he was really there.   
  
"Visiting me in this apartment is not a holiday," she stated with a   
powerful edge to her voice. "Not by a long shot. You've barely   
relaxed. And you're not here out of guilt, like last time."  
  
"I didn't visit you the last time purely out of guilt, either," he   
argued, lowly. "That was coincidence."  
  
"Then why now, why here?" She finally lifted her eyes to spear him   
with a stare. He felt off set by the weight of it. "This wasn't   
coincidence."  
  
"No, I looked for you." He lowered his gaze to the forks in his   
hands. Then he glanced at the small living room as Michael tottered   
to the couch and table, running a small truck on the surface. Amy   
was studiously coloring. "I simply wanted to see you again, Tegan.   
And Amy and Michael."  
  
"But why? By all rights," she stated, coming to the table, passing   
him. "And by your own logic, that means you that have to conform to   
my reality."  
  
"Quite."  
  
"I won't disrupt their lives," she whispered, nodding to the sitting   
room.  
  
"I wouldn't do that to you. Or to them," he reassured. "I'm not   
asking you to come with me, Tegan." He sighed as he set down the   
cutlery on the table. Then with a sigh of resignation, he nodded to   
the door. "Do you wish me to leave?"  
  
"I wouldn't have asked you to supper, if that were the case," she   
said, warningly.  
  
"Then why the questions?" he asked, agitated. "Does it matter why   
I'm here? Really?"  
  
"Not really," she shrugged. "And yes."  
  
He moved his mouth for a moment before he heard the words tumble out   
of them. "The TARDIS is still very quiet without you."  
  
With a nod, she accepted his words. "And sometimes," she   
admitted. "My reality is a bit dull." There was a sense of   
understanding as she turned to get the rest of dinner and he felt his   
agitation bleed from him.  
**

"Doctor, put him down."  
  
The Doctor glanced up at the boy he held on his shoulders and lifted   
an eyebrow. "He's quite all right and very much enjoys the new  
of life," he answered with a certain amount of arrogance. "I'm not   
harming him, Tegan."  
  
She sighed and glanced up from where she colored with Amy. "No,   
maybe not, but you are fraying my nerves unbelievably. All I can   
picture is him falling, out of no fault of your own. Humor me,   
please..."  
  
"Well, Michael?" the Time Lord asked, glancing up at the boy   
again. "Do you want to come down?"  
  
"It's my turn, Momma," Amy studiously pointed out to her mother as   
the Doctor waited patiently for the reply from the boy. He smiled at   
the little girl's voice. She sounded much as Tegan had when she   
first stumbled into the TARDIS, bossy and out of her depth. "Doctor   
said that he would let me ride when Mike was done."  
  
Tegan rolled her eyes and set down the crayons. The evening news was   
still on going and all their bellies were full of dinner. And it was   
rapidly approaching bedtime. The Doctor could see that on some level   
Tegan was relieved that he was tiring her children for sleeping. He   
hadn't realized right away that that was what he was doing, but after   
a half an hour of walking about with Michael on his shoulders or   
back, the child was tiring.   
  
"That's very true," the Doctor answered. "I did promise Amy that she   
could get a lift, Tegan."  
  
"Oh, my girl," Tegan teased under her breath as she selected the blue   
crayon. "You don't know half about his promises."  
  
"Tegan," he admonished as he reached up to catch Michael about the   
arms. "Giving your children a piggy-back ride is hardly like finding   
Heathrow."  
  
"Oh really? And how about seeing the future?"  
  
"Yes, well, Tegan we are talking about me personally here and not my   
ability to pilot the TARDIS," he lifted Michael over his head and   
suddenly released the boy to catch him. He enjoyed the way that   
Michael giggled and the weight of the boy in his arms and total trust   
he was given. The Time Lord didn't like the look of shock and the   
way that Tegan gasped, however. She rose to her feet, her hand   
covering her throat convulsively. Michael was oblivious and crawled   
away from the Doctor as he set him on the ground.  
  
"Doc" Tegan breathed, half in admonishment, half in relief.  
  
"It was deliberate, Tegan. Children love to feel the effect of   
gravity," the Doctor reassured, frowning at the way that Tegan's face   
grew ashen. He felt a tug at his stomach and stared at his old   
companion. Amy tired of the adult exchanged and approached the Time   
Lord, holding her hands out to be hefted. "I wouldn't have dropped   
him." It was a plea, he supposed. For what he didn't know, but the   
abject fear in Tegan's countenance made him wish he hadn't lifted her   
child off the floor.  
  
"I know," Tegan answered, but he felt sure that she didn't quite feel   
assured. She watched as Amy pleaded to have her fair turn on the   
Doctor's shoulders and almost against his will, he scooped the child   
up. Tegan sighed and turned from him, straightening up the   
crayons. "Amy, it's time for bed."  
  
"Doctor can put me to bed, can't he, Momma?" Amy asked, but the   
Doctor had a feeling it was more of an explanation of fact than an   
inquiry. Tegan smiled, but it was a ghost of a smile to the Doctor   
and she agreed.   
  
"Do you mind, Doc?"  
  
"Mind?" The Doctor asked, his voice rising on the notes. "Of course   
I don't mind. It would be my pleasure to escort such a lovely girl"  
  
"Charmer," Tegan laughed. "Careful, you'll have her wrapped around   
your finger or vice versa and no amount of your Time Mechanics will   
help you." Tegan grabbed ahold of Michael's small hands and helped   
him walk across the expanse of the floor toward the first door   
nearest the exterior wall. "Come on, you two," she playfully called,   
but to the Doctor there was a lack of happiness in her exchange.  
  
  
There was something almost healing about the way that a child gives   
themselves completely to one's care when they trust that person and   
when that person earns their trust. The Doctor smiled as he closed   
the book of Fairy Tales and gazed down at Amy, against whose   
headboard he sat and then over at Michael, resting in his crib. The   
boy was asleep, clearly worn out by their antics earlier. Amy was   
nearer to the Sandman than to anything else, but she still had the   
sense of mind to glance up at the Doctor as he levered off the bed.   
  
"Doctor?"  
  
"Yes, Amy?" he replied as he put down the book and tucked the   
blankets about her slim small body. The crisp white of the sheets   
made her dark hair look raven, almost like tendrils of night. Her   
brown eyes were half-closed and calm.   
  
"Will you be here when I wake up?" she asked. His hands stilled and   
he glanced over at Tegan as she tucked Michael in, insuring that he   
was positioned right and warm for the night.   
  
"Do you want me to be?" he asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Tegan's hands slowed and she straightened, looking over at him. In   
the dimmed light, she looked very young, more like 23 than 32. Her   
eyes both asked him the same question and wondered at his answer.   
  
"I'll be here," he replied, turning to glance down at Amy. "Sleep   
well," he urged and turned from the bed. The girl turned over,   
messing up his more than adequate tuck-in job, he mused and he waited   
by the door for Tegan to kiss both her children goodnight and turn   
off the light.   
  
He stepped out into the living room again and waited, somewhat   
patiently, for his old companion to shut the door quietly. He knew   
there was a conversation that had begun, silently, when he had hefted   
her children and was ongoing as he read to them and now it was going   
to gain voice. The Doctor was worried that by giving it sound the   
conversation would digress into an argument. But he wasn't sure.   
With the Tegan of old, he knew that eventuality; with this older,   
mature version, he wasn't sure; he wasn't sure at all.  
  
"Will you?"  
  
"Hmm?" he asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.   
  
"Will you be here tomorrow?"  
  
"I just said I would be," he stated what he hoped was obvious. Then   
he realized his social blunder and sighed, reaching at once to rub at   
the back of his neck. "Wellthat is, Teganif you would" he   
swallowed and rolled his eyes. "Might I stay?"  
  
"Do you really want to?"  
  
The questions were pointed, like tiny splinters. They were aimed to   
peel his surety of the situation away, he feared. He was on thin   
ice, like he was walking a power line somewhere. And to be doubly   
wary, he didn't know where they were leading. "Tegan, would I have   
just asked or told Amy I would be here if I didn't want to be?"  
  
She shrugged, but he knew it wasn't indifference. She disappeared   
into the kitchen and he frowned, half following her, half avoiding   
her. He could see her preparing something like cocoa. Her voice,   
after a time, floated to him as he stood at the door. "I don't   
know. I still don't quite understand why you are here, but I'm   
willing to accept."  
  
"That's a change," he joked, sullenly.  
  
"I don't want to argue."  
  
"That's also a change," he continued, slipping his hands into his   
pockets again.   
  
She put down the spoon and turned the heat on the range   
lower. "Double on the chocolate, right?"  
  
"Sweets to the sweet," he replied. Tired of standing and needing to   
do something, he entered the kitchen proper and leaned against the   
cupboards with a sigh. "I don't really know why I'm here, either,   
Tegan, to be perfectly honest. We discussed this earlier."  
  
She avoided the conversation and went for the jugular vein and he   
smiled at the memory of her methods. "They, Amy and Michael, will   
begin to really like you, Doc."  
  
"Good. I like them as well," he pointed out. "It's refreshing to be   
liked for no other reason than because you exist."  
  
"They'll want you to be here; they'll miss you when you're gone."  
  
"Your point," he prodded, leaning forward a little.  
  
"They've already had enough loss; I don't want them to have another."  
  
The words were said with a straightforwardness that made him start a   
little. Tegan's voice had mellowed in its inflections and accent,   
but it still carried a level of projection that made him feel   
uneasy. The point was not lost on him, however.   
  
"Tegan."  
  
"You can waltz in and out of my life all you like," she said, rather   
strongly as she turned the range off completely. Turning, she   
gathered two mugs. "You could land that crate of yours in the   
sitting room for all I care. I don't mind you being here and   
understand when you leave. But they won't. If you stay long enough   
to have any type of a tie with them, they'll not understand when they   
wake up and you're not here. And they won't understand why they   
can't visit you."  
  
The last bit made him frown. "Tegan, I'm only here for a day or two,   
not a month or a fortnight."  
  
"Amy recognized you. I watched her watching you tonight while you   
read. You held her interest; you and that calm voice of yours.   
Michael loved the way you tossed him about"  
  
"Yes, I wanted to ask you why you were so frightened of my holding   
him" he pressed, coming forward to hold the mugs as she poured the   
cocoa into them. "You have my word that I would never harm them,   
either of them. Nor would I let any harm"  
  
"I know that. That's not the point of this conversation."  
  
"You didn't know it on some level, Tegan; you practically collapsed   
in relief when I let him on the ground. Don't you trust me?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
It was said without hesitation and he relaxed, although he hadn't   
realized that he was uptight. She continued as she picked up her mug   
and he his. "I just don't want to lose him, see him hurt. It's a   
fear unlike anything elseCybermen and Daleks included."  
  
As they passed through the doorway and into the sitting room, he   
reached out to touch her shoulder. "TeganI promise I would never   
harm them or allow harm to come to them. You have my word, as a Time   
Lord, a renegade and a friend."  
  
"Ho, a renegade? Then I have to believe that oath. You've never   
sworn on that, before," she collapsed in the couch and moved her feet   
so he could sit on the other end. "And as for the staying"  
  
"I can leave if this makes you feel uneasy, Tegan," he reassured. "I   
only wanted to visit"  
  
"No need for the guilt tactics," she groused. "I just know my   
children. They trust easily. I did invite you here and I'm not   
taking that offer back." She took a deep breath and shook her   
head. "I've been called a fool before," she sighed under her   
breath. "But I trust you won't hurt them. Stay. I think you want   
to be here; so stay."  
  
He lifted an eyebrow and gave a hesitant nod. "You're sure?"  
  
Her face darkened but then she gave him a smile he had despaired of   
ever seeing again. "Positive, Doctor."  
  
He breathed a sigh of relief and then, in an effort to change the   
subject, he asked: "Do you have a chess board, Tegan?"  
  
**  
  
"Hush now."  
  
The Doctor cooed the words as he leaned over the crib side. It was   
three o'clock in the morning and Michael was fussing. He squinted   
and reached over to shut off the baby monitor next to the   
crib. "What's the matter, hmm?"  
  
The boy was moving his legs and whimpering quietly. "Momma," was the   
plain explanation from Michael.  
  
With a sigh and a frown, the Time Lord contemplated the little boy as   
he rubbed Michael's stomach. "Let's let your mother get some sleep   
tonight, Michael. This is nothing you and I can't handle. Are you   
hungry?"  
  
"Doctor?"   
  
He rolled his eyes and glanced behind him to the bed. Amy sat up   
rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry, Amy. We woke you."  
  
She scrambled out of the bed and came over to look through the bars   
and into the crib. Her little hand reached through the bars to touch   
her brother's leg. "What's wrong?"   
  
The Doctor licked his lips and shook his head slowly. "I'm not quite   
sure, Amy. My experience with little children and toddlers is less   
than wellless than anything I suppose," he continued to rub   
Michael's stomach slowly.   
  
The little girl looked up at him. "Hungry? Snack?"  
  
The Doctor shrugged. "Does he usually eat at night?"  
  
Amy frowned, pursing her little lips in concentration. "Diaper?"  
  
With a puff of breath and a sigh, he answered: "I hope not." Then   
with a look between determination and disgust, he eased his hands   
under Michael and felt around the diaper. Then he nodded   
slowly. "Of all my luck"  
  
He picked up Michael and settled him on his hip as he apologized to   
Amy. "I need to turn on the light for this, Amy-"  
  
"Momma never does"   
  
"Your Momma can change a diaper with her eyes closed, no doubt. I on   
the other hand, cannot," he closed the door quietly and turned on the   
light. He found the changing table on the far wall and laid the   
child down on the top, holding him steady with a hand. Digging   
around, he found: wipes, powder and diapers. Everything that Tegan   
had used on the beach that day.  
  
"Yes, well" he sighed as he righted and set the things down on the   
top of the table. Amy climbed onto the rocking chair next to the   
changing area and settled down to watch. He acknowledged her with a   
glance. "WellMichael, Amythis can't be any harder than refitting   
the temporal cones, can it?"  
  
The girl giggled, more at his facial expression, he supposed, than   
his words. Michael still fussed. "No time like the present, I   
reckon. Rightfirst, I believewe need to get you out of this pajama   
Tegan has you in. Why humans insist on using these contraptions with   
the feet encased is beyond me. Let's seeah yes" the snaps came   
undone quickly under his fingers. "There we are. Nowdear mewhat   
have you been eating?"  
  
Amy giggled again and crossed her legs on the chair. The Doctor   
frowned and somehow unfastened the diaper and lifted Michael free of   
the article. He made a disgusted face and quickly folded the diaper   
in on itself. "Where on Earth does your mother put these?" he asked   
Amy and Michael.   
  
As she jumped down from the chair, Amy paddled over to the diaper   
pail and pointed. "Ah, thank you." The Doctor stepped back from   
Michael wondering how he was going to watch that the child didn't   
fall and throw out the diaper at the same time. Michael laughed a   
little and grabbed his feet. Satisfied that he had five seconds to   
spare, the Doctor quickly put the diaper in the pail and returned to   
the table. "Nowlet's seepowder then wipes? No, nothat's silly.   
It must be the other way round," he put his hands into his pockets   
and stared at the accessories on the table.  
  
With a frown of concentration, he grabbed a wipe and then gently   
began to clean Michael. He was lost in a dissertation of the   
physiological differences between humans and Time Lords, namely the   
navel and missed Amy holding up the powder container. "Thank you,   
Amy," he said, absentmindedly, taking the offering.  
  
He supposed he didn't need to completely dust Michael's pelvic region   
with powder, but more was better than not enough. "Now, Amy, comes   
the hard part. How in the name of Rassilon does one know which way   
is the correct way to put on a diaper?"  
  
"With experience," yawned a broad Australian accented voice. He   
jumped slightly and turned to the door. Tegan stood in it, clad in a   
short and shirt pajama. Her hair was a mass of curls. With a sleepy   
frown, she came forward. "And why is the entire house awake at this   
ungodly hour?"  
  
"Michael fussed and I hoped," he emphasized the word. "I had hoped   
to allow you to sleep and deal with the problem." Still, he almost   
released the new diaper with a grin of relief as she came forward to   
take up where he had left off.  
  
"I told him you don't turn on light, Momma," Amy chirped.  
  
"Yes, well" he sheepishly glanced at Tegan. "She was already awake   
and I did rather need the light to see."  
  
"Hmmm, welllet's see what you've done to him," Tegan yawned again   
and leaned over to rub noses with her son almost lazily. Glancing   
down, she silently laughed. "Were you thinking to dust his body for   
fingerprints, Doc?"  
  
The Doctor crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall. "Tegan,"   
he admonished. "I reckoned more was better than not enough."  
  
"With him, yes," Tegan agreed. "And I see you did a top job cleaning   
him up"  
  
"Thank you," the Doctor drew dryly and frowned. "I hadn't realized I   
was going to be rated. Truly, I did just want to"  
  
"It's okay, Doc. You've done a fine job," Tegan reassured as she   
unfolded the new diaper and cooed at her son, lifting his legs. The   
Doctor watched as she deftly settled Michael on the diaper and   
fastened the tabs. "And for boys, Doc, the extra absorbent strips go   
in the front," she concluded, finishing up securing the snaps on the   
pajamas. "And now, this little lad always needs some encouraging to   
go back to sleep. So"  
  
The Doctor was nodding with an almost bemused look on his face. "Of   
course! Or course, how silly of methe absorbent strips would have   
to be in the front to accommodate" he stopped and looked embarrassed   
for a moment.   
  
"To accommodate what makes a boy a boy as opposed to a girl,   
perhaps?" Tegan laughed quietly, her voice deep from sleep. "Doc,   
could you turn out the light and if you wouldn't mind, get Amy back   
into bed? I'm going to need to rock junior here."  
  
The Doctor glanced at the rocking chair and then at Michael as Tegan   
hefted him off of the changing table. "I could do that, Tegan.   
Rememberit's rare that I sleep. You on the other hand"  
  
Almost surprising him, Tegan slowly agreed. "You don't mind?"  
  
"No."  
  
Amy pulled on Tegan's shorts and pouted. "Can you rock me?"  
  
As the Doctor took Michael from Tegan's arms, she bent down to share   
a gaze with her daughter. "There's only one chair, Amy-girl. I can   
tuck you in, though."  
  
"But-"  
  
Tegan frowned and glanced over at the Doctor. He was standing near   
the light switch, holding Michael securely. "Amy-"  
  
"Can I sleep with you?" the little girl asked plaintively.  
  
With a sigh and a nod, Tegan agreed and climbed into the bed with   
Amy. Tucking in the sheets and blanket around the both of them. The   
Doctor switched off the light and climbed into the rocking chair.   
Surprisingly, Tegan was asleep within ten minutes, as was Amy.   
Michael followed soon after. As he replaced the boy into the crib,   
he decided to sit in the chair again. There was something quite   
relaxing about watching his friend and her two children sleeping.   
  
He slowly rocked the night away not quite understanding why it   
affected him and didn't want to know why. He simply just wanted to   
be.

**

Tegan awoke to the smell of eggs and bacon cooking and frowned. For   
a moment, she was alarmed and uncurled her body, blinking her eyes   
awake. Both of her children were gone. Panic rose in her throat.   
She couldn't think who would be cooking in her kitchen. Her mother   
wasn't there and  
  
She looked down at the blanket and the crinkling she heard as she   
moved. The blanket had become a cream colored conglomeration of   
material and next to her shoulder there was a lone celery stalk. She   
had crushed it. "Of course" she breathed. With rolled eyes and   
with a frown, she eased out of her daughter's bed. She couldn't   
think how her children had left their beds without waking her, but   
she supposed the Time Lord owner of coat had something to do with it.  
  
"And cooking in my kitchen, too," she sighed.   
  
**  
  
It had been years since he had cooked for anyone and he hadn't   
realized that watching someone cook was entertainment, but Amy and to   
an extent Michael were watching him and talking to him about their   
favorite breakfasts. Amy had insisted that cake and jelly were her   
favorites and that her mother cooked it for her all the time.   
Michael simply played with the toys the Doctor had found in the   
corner of the living room and had put into the highchair with him and   
talked about his bear.   
  
The Doctor found he quite liked the bear.  
  
"Amy, I know your mother does not cook cake for breakfast," he   
stated, checking the eggs. The girl pouted in response. "And I   
spent years building up a tolerance to your mother's pouts. It'll do   
no good. What else would you eat?"  
  
"Toast."  
  
"That's a start," the Doctor replied, turning to glance at the   
girl. "And fruit, jellyand a bit of bacon, maybe? A child your age   
should have more than carbohydrate intake in the morning." Frowning   
at Amy's reluctance, he continued. "Would you like to help with the   
toast?"  
  
"I can?" Amy appeared ecstatic with the prospect of helping the   
kitchen. She bounced out of the chair and stood in front of him   
barely contained. "Momma says I can't."  
  
"Hmm, well" the Doctor continued, turning off the range. "I'll put   
the toast in and you watch it, all right? Tell me when it's done?"   
He turned and rummaged through the cupboard until he found the bread   
in the box and placed a few slices in the toaster.  
  
Amy scrambled up into the chair and sat demurely next to the table,   
hands folded in her lap.   
  
"Don't touch it," he warned. "It'll be very hot."  
  
She nodded. With a smile, he turned back to the range and speared   
the bacon, turning it over. Michael held out his bear as the Doctor   
passed the chair and told the Time Lord that Bear 'had no nose'. The   
Doctor frowned, picked up the bear, gave it a once over and   
hummed. "We'll have to see what we can do about that, won't we,   
Michael? A bear with no nose: how does he find the honey?"  
  
He deposited the bear back into Michael's outstretched hands and   
continued to cook. Amy had questions, though. "How does the toaster   
work?" she asked, not taking her eyes from the appliance.  
  
"Heating of coils which in turn act as convection heat to brown the   
bread," he explained quietly. "And a good toaster will heat the   
bread to just the right temperature."  
  
"Oh," came the quiet answer.  
  
"That's right: confuse her," her mother replied. The Doctor turned   
and glanced at the door. Tegan leaned up against the door jam,   
wrapped in a warm large bathrobe. Her arms were crossed over her   
chest and with her hair an unruly mass of curls, she looked almost as   
she had on Deva Loka to him. But her eyes had drifted from him to   
her children. "Amybe careful; don't touch. I'm sure the Doc told   
you that, though." She ruffled her daughter's hair and then moved to   
Michael. "Good morning, lad. I see Bear is up with you."  
  
The Doctor shrugged as he flipped the bacon again. "It was quite   
impossible to get Michael out of the crib without it. I once had a   
chess set I was that attached to" he mused.   
  
"Are you sure it wasn't a slide rule," Tegan joked. Padding over to   
the range, she surveyed his cooking offerings. "I won't ask how you   
got them out of the room without me waking"  
  
Amy giggled. "I woke up the Doctor. And he woke up Michael by   
accident"  
  
"Hmmm," Tegan commented. "I see. She woke you up?"  
  
"Well, apparentlyI was tired," the Time Lord grumbled.   
  
"And you've organized the kitchen to your liking?" she asked, turning   
around to glance at the room.  
  
"I've found everything I need if that was the meaning behind your   
little jokes, Tegan," he replied, turning to tweak her nose. "Eggs   
over easy?"  
  
"Why are you cooking, Doc?" Tegan asked, rubbing her head. "Aren't   
you the guest here?"  
  
"Consider it a thank you for letting me stay, hmm?" he answered.   
Tegan frowned and turned off the range, saving the bacon from   
becoming over crispy. He found she nodded rather easily once that   
was done.   
  
"All right," she agreed. Behind her the toaster popped and Amy   
squealed out a warning to the Doctor. "All right, I'll accept that.   
But Lord, I never expected you to cook. I'll get Michael set. He   
gets some oatmeal"  
  
"Ah," the Doctor stated. "I was wondering. Good, good."  
  
She bustled one way and the Doctor went the other to help Amy with   
her toast. Within five minutes they were at the kitchen table. The   
Doctor drug in a chair from the living room and they collapsed to   
eat. The Doctor frowned as he realized that Michael essentially was   
getting just as much food over the side of the highchair as he got in   
his mouth. Tegan simply sat guard, a towel nearby to catch what she   
could.   
  
Finally, after the children had had their fill, Tegan sent them into   
the sitting room with the television turned on to a child program.   
That done, she came back in to clean up the kitchen. When the Doctor   
rose to help, she waved him down. "My turn," she   
admonished. "Coffee?"  
  
"Please."  
  
The mug was filled and offered as she tidied up the kitchen. Soon,   
she joined him at the table with a sleepy smile. "Good morning,   
Doc," she finally said.   
  
He smiled over his coffee. "Good morning, Tegan. And it is a grand   
one, isn't it?" he asked. He knew she had never been a morning   
person, and he had had to change the TARDIS lighting to accommodate   
her rather sour wake mood. But he had had a grand morning, liking   
the children's happy chatter, Amy's enthusiasm and cooking.   
  
"Oh, my dear Doctor," he swallowed the mouthful of coffee he had when   
he heard the endearment term. This does not bode well for me, he   
supposed. Tegan fished in her pocket and pulled out a small sprig of   
broken celery. "It was crushed," she explained. "Seems we'll have   
to get you another one. Is the morning still grand?"  
  
"Heartless," he mumbled and reached out to take the vegetable. The   
cup was put down on the table and he bit into the celery stalk with a   
satisfying crunch. "And yes, the morning is still grand, Tegan. The   
morning isn't grand or not simply because my celery was crushed by   
your sleeping body."  
  
She smiled and there was an impish gleam in her eyes. "You'll spoil   
me."  
  
"Excuse me?" he asked, suddenly, both the celery and the coffee   
forgotten. He watched as she finished her draught of coffee and set   
down her mug. Amy was happily talking to her dolls behind him.   
Apparently the lot of them was having tea. Michael was watching the   
telly. She nodded to the room and he turned to glance at the   
children. While his gaze was diverted, she continued.   
  
"Changing his diaper last night. Rocking him, reading to Amycooking   
breakfast."  
  
"Well," he sighed, catching on to her line of logic. "Tegan, you do   
look rather ill. You need more sleep."  
  
"It'll do no good if you do this for me and I get used to it. They   
are my children, Doc; I do have to take care of them."  
  
"And your job? This new job you were taking when we last met?" He   
asked. "Besides," he continued, haughtily. "I rather like helping   
outI meanthe cookingI don't get to do it often. You know the   
trouble with being a Time Lord, Tegan: one never seems to find the   
time to do those sorts of things. And despite my fear of diaper   
changing, it IS less involved than changing the temporal rotors."  
  
"Well, thank God for that," she joked. "My job is my job. It pays   
the bills."  
  
"I gather you don't like it much," he pressed. A ball rolled in by   
his feet and he bent to pick it up, holding it out as Amy came and   
retrieved it.   
  
"I'm a receptionist," Tegan sighed. "Not the most exciting thing in   
the world, but it's stable and pays decent."  
  
He nodded, understanding, probably better than she realized about   
what she was saying. Tegan had always been an adventurous one, often   
stumbling into dangerous situations due to her sense of adventure and   
curiosity. A job, any 9 to 5 job as they were called, would be   
boring to her.   
  
"Don't give that look, DocI have to keep a roof over their heads,   
you know," she explained.   
  
"Welland the hours with two children alone are tedious, yes?"  
  
"Not quite tedious, DocI don't mind"  
  
"Did you get enough sleep last night?" he asked, softer.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, thenjust let it go, Tegan. I'm glad to give you the rest."  
  
She shook her head as she cooled the coffee with another   
breath. "Thank you. But why you seem to enjoy this is beyond me.   
Hell's Teeth, I never pictured you as a babysitter."  
  
"It hasn't quite come to that, surely," he joked. But as he watched   
Tegan nibble on the piece of toast and listened to the children in   
the other room, he examined why he enjoyed the children. He supposed   
it was the incessant curiosity he could see in Amy; or maybe it was   
the way that Michael so willingly and completely allowed him to see   
to the child's needs; or maybe it was that he was, as he had said,   
liked simply because he existed; or maybe it was that it was all so   
simple, and fun. He sighed happily. No temporal coordinates, no   
running about saving lives, and no worries. Yes, seeing the   
Universe, seeing life through the eyes of a child helped to replace   
some of his love of living. He seemed to have been missing that as   
of late.  
  
But he simply gave her a wide smile and shrugged. "If you don't   
mind, Tegan; I do enjoy your children and I do think that you and I get   
along well."  
  
Tegan laughed suddenly and the sound made his smile widen. "Yes,   
surprisingly. Better now than when I lived on the TARDIS."  
  
"Distance-" he started and then looked down at the table. The rest   
of the Terran saying seemed too endearing for him to use. "Yes,   
well" he said, jumping to his feet to get the coffee pot.   
  
She acknowledged his embarrassment by looking down at the table. "It   
does at that, Doc," she agreed without saying more than he had. Then   
with a sigh, she looked into the sitting room. Her mouth twitched in   
a smile. "Mike's desperately trying to walk. The poor boy. He   
makes it so long as he can hold on to the couch or with me holding   
his hands. He always looks sohesitant. He's not like Amy in that   
respect."  
  
The Doctor poured Tegan coffee and then cast a glance into the   
sitting room. Michael was holding himself up at the end of the couch   
and was rocking back and forth. "Not a problem with his motor   
skills," he muttered. "Surely."  
  
"No, of course not, Doc. He's just a little behind in walking that's   
all."  
  
The Doctor turned around and sat down. "What does one do to   
encourage a child to walk?" he asked, honestly curious.

  
**  
  
Tegan pulled Amy's hood tighter and patted her back. "Play nicely in   
the sandbox, Amy. If I see misbehaving we will go right home.   
Understand?"  
  
Amy nodded quickly, lifting her chin so Tegan could tie the   
hood. "Jessica is there. And I'll be right here with the Doctor,   
all right?" Rising she waved to Jessica's mother and turned to see   
the Doctor holding Michael so he could pet a puppy.   
  
The Doctor thanked the owner profusely and stood, holding the boy on   
his hip. He had seen the glimmer of joy in Michael's eyes and had   
enjoyed that more than the feel of the puppy's soft fur. As Tegan   
approached, he nodded toward a bench. Tegan shook her head,   
though. "The park is Michael's padded adventure zone. There's a   
patch of grass next to the swings"  
  
"I see," he nodded and crossed the park with a spring in his step and   
a giggling child. "And once we sit in the grass?" he asked.  
  
"Well," Tegan sighed, flopping down in the blades about three feet   
from him. "You want to help with the children. And Amy is with   
Jessica, her friend right nowyou can help me with Michael."  
  
"Help? Help, how?" The Doctor asked, folding his legs to sit cross-  
legged on the ground. The grass felt cool in the autumn sun.   
  
Tegan faced him and spread her legs. "Well" she looked a little   
sad, but continued. "Tom and I did this with Amy when she was an   
infant and toddler. It was how we helped her to learn to walk. She   
felt safer when she had me or herto stumble to."  
  
"Ah," the Doctor nodded. He could hear the anguish in Tegan's   
voice. It made him feel uneasy. "You think Michael will feel better   
about falling with either one of us"  
  
"Working like bookends," Tegan offered him a brave smile. She   
motioned for the Doctor to turn Michael around to face her. The   
Doctor smiled at how Michael moved his legs as though he were   
running. He stretched out his legs much like Tegan had. His leg   
span far exceeded hers. "Now" she instructed, "Just let him do   
what he wantsif he wants to walk toward me, let him. And when he   
gets started, guide him"  
  
"I understand," the Doctor said lowly. He already had the bundle of   
energy that was Tegan's son edging along his arm. "Don't completely   
support him." Tegan nodded and smiled.   
  
For the next twenty minutes, Michael would take a step and then   
collapse and crawl back and forth between them. It was starting to   
get cooler as the sun began its descent. It didn't matter to him,   
however. The sunshine felt good on his face, the smell of grass and   
earth blended to create a heavenly aroma, and the sound of the wind   
through the trees was a symphony. He was surrounded in Earth.   
Surrounded in his favorite planet. He was content. He knew that Amy   
and Mike would have to go back home soon as the weather grew chilly   
with the evening.  
  
Tegan turned Mike to let the child come back toward him, and he held   
out his hands. Something amazing happened as the child began to   
teeter. The Doctor called for him, waving him on as he supposed he   
would have waved a runner on. "Come on, Michael. Come on"   
  
Michael teetered and then giggled. The next thing they knew, Michael   
stumbled, but remained on his feet, and walked toward the Doctor.   
Tegan laughed and clapped her hands. The Doctor grinned widely and   
embraced the boy as he collapsed into his chest. This was more   
rewarding than saving worlds, he thought suddenly as Michael wiggled   
around to walk back toward his mother. He kept the child supported   
until he took two steps together and then left his finger tips.  
  
As Tegan caught her son with a whoop and a smile, she met his eyes   
over Michael's head. The Doctor was surprised to see her lips   
twitching in an amused smile. "What?" he asked. "What is it?"  
  
"You. I don't think you expected this," she turned Michael around   
and swiped at his bottom to clear away some of the grass. "I've   
never seen you that genuinelyhappy."  
  
He lifted an eyebrow and pursed his lips. "Wellit seems to be very   
rewarding" he remarked, "Michael looks overjoyed. And I can see   
why," he smiled as Michael began to teeter and toddle back towards   
him. He gathered him as the boy came up to his chest. But when the   
Doctor turned him around again, the boy sat down between his legs and   
played with the weave in his cricket sweater. "Gaining a method of   
transport to explore your universe no matter how limited that   
universe might be" He chuckled and she looked surprised at his   
laughter. "It's like when I first procured the TARDIS. Elation,   
freedom"  
  
Tegan nodded. "Stole, you mean."  
  
At his frown, she shrugged. "Tit for a tat. It looks like Michael   
is quite done with his exercise today and he likes your sweater."  
  
"He has discerning taste," the Doctor replied and patted Michael   
gently on his back.   
  
Tegan's gaze was drawn to the sandbox nearby and her   
daughter. "CripesAmy is playing queen of the sandbox again. Do you   
have Michael?"  
  
He nodded as Tegan sprung to her feet and walked toward the sandbox.   
Michael leaned back against his leg and gave him a wide smile. "Yes,   
Michael" he agreed, lowly. "It is cause for celebration, isn't it?   
I'm proud of you."

**

"He is quite taken with you."  
  
The Doctor put down his cocoa and grinned. "Well, Tegan, the feeling   
is quite mutual, I assure you. I've never known a child with that   
much energy. And Amy is a joyso much curiosity. She reminds me of   
a companion I once hadwho stumbled into the TARDIS on the Barnett   
Bypass"  
  
She made muttering noises around her cocoa mug. "She can't be that   
bad, surely."  
  
They sat on the couch in the sitting room. The day had a stormy end   
and outside the wind had picked up. He could feel a chill seeping in   
the window frame. October was always a turning point in the year he   
supposed, no matter where one lived on the planet. He had left his   
coat on the sleeping Amy and had added a blanket to Michael. Tegan   
had appeared at the door with extra blankets in hand just as he had   
finished. It was quite laughable that they had had the same   
thought.   
  
And the only way to end the evening was with cocoa.  
  
"Oh, Tegan, you were never really that bad," he said.  
  
She looked surprised but then smiled. "Oh sure. And those shouting   
matches we had?"  
  
"Well," he swallowed his cocoa and set the mug down after a moment of   
thought on the coaster. "We had to get used to each other, I   
suppose."  
  
"Um. No, Doc. I was really horrible for the first few months."  
  
"And I was referring to your insatiable curiosity that landed you in   
my TARDIS in the first place," he offered, changing the subject away   
from an area that he was not comfortable discussing. Even now he had   
no understanding why Tegan had rubbed him wrong in the beginning.   
  
She nodded. "And kept me there quite longer than I should have been."  
  
"Hmm," he neither agreed nor disagreed.   
  
They were silent for a time, listening to the sound of the wind   
through the panes. As he set the mug down, he turned to her and   
smiled slightly. "Tegan, may I ask a favor?"  
  
To his practiced eyes, she looked worried as she set down her mug as   
well. "I suppose," came the answer.  
  
He rubbed his trouser legs and nodded toward the door to the   
bedroom. "May I visit again?"  
  
She shrugged. "You are more than welcome here, Doc. I have a   
feeling they'll be looking for you. I've learned my lesson this   
time. Please."  
  
"Good, good," he smiled.   
  
She frowned and he was surprised to see sadness in her brown   
eyes. "You'll leave in the morning, won't you?"  
  
"Yes, Peri will be ready to leave."  
  
"You'll take care of yourself, won't you?"  
  
He frowned and shrugged. "I always do"  
  
Her expression was laughable as she rejoined with: "You can't take   
care of yourself, not really. That's why you have companions.   
You're my responsibilityI always said that. I was worried you'd run   
into the End of all Ends after I left."  
  
"I'm still here."  
  
"I can see that; I was wrong."  
  
"I'll come back," he answered seriously.  
  
"Then," she smiled. "We'll see you when you return, won't we."  
  
**  
  
He edged his hat down over his eyes and shrugged into his coat as he   
stepped to the pavement. The air had become bitter overnight and in   
the pre-dawn hours, it was cold. It felt strange leaving the warmth   
and security of the apartment although it was not a home to him.   
  
Turning, he glanced up at the window. Sure enough, he had not left   
as quietly as he had assumed. Tegan stood in the window, her   
bathrobe wrapped firmly around her frame. She waved slowly. He   
returned it freely.  
  
His step down the sidewalk was quick and sure. He felt rejuvenated   
and alive. And more than ready to take on the universe once more.


End file.
